This invention relates to an electronic program schedule system, which provides a user with schedule information for broadcast or cablecast programs viewed by the user on a television receiver. More particularly, it relates to an improved electronic program guide that provides the user with a more powerful and convenient operating environment, while, at the same time, increasing the efficiency of navigation by the user through the guide.
Electronic program guides for television systems are known in the art. For example, one prior system used an electronic character generator to display textual schedule information on the full screen of a television receiver. Other prior systems presented electronically stored program schedule information to a user for viewing while allowing the user to select display formats. Still other systems employed a data processor to input user-selection criteria, then stored only the program schedule information meeting these criteria, and subsequently used the stored information to automatically tune a programmable tuner or activate a recording device at the time of broadcast of the selected television programs. Such prior systems are generally discussed in "Stay Tuned for Smart TV," published in the November 1990 issue of Popular Science.
Collectively, the prior electronic program systems may be difficult to implement and cumbersome to use. They also fail to provide viewing capabilities that address in a more realistic manner the viewing habits of the users of these electronic program systems. Moreover, many of these systems are complex in their design and are expensive to implement. Ease of use and economy are primary concerns of television program distributors and viewers as they contemplate dramatic increases in the number and nature of program networks and other television-based services. And, as the number of television channels available to a user increases dramatically with the advent of new satellite and cable-based technologies, the utility of these prior systems substantially diminishes.
These prior-art systems also fail to provide the user with sufficient information, for example pricing and the like, about pay-per-view events, premium services or other packaged programming to which the user does not subscribe, nor do they provide the user with the capability to automatically purchase such programming on demand or impulse. Moreover, these prior-art systems are deficient in that they fail to provide an efficient and automatic method of updating or replacing the application software programs that implement the electronic guide at the user sites, relying instead on manual or other cumbersome forms of revision or replacement or hardware-based systems that can not be updated without physical replacement of integrated circuits and/or other parts.
Nor do these prior electronic guide systems have the capability of linking the user to other applications or information systems which are not part of the electronic program guide application or data.
Nor do these prior electronic guide systems provide video promotion of television programs and services that are functionally linked and visually displayed in an integrated fashion. Program promotion is an important element of the effective marketing of television programming. The promotion of pay-per-view pay (i.e., "a la carte") programs and other unregulated program services is particularly important to cable television operators in the wake of re-regulation by the federal government. The current method of promoting such programming using video is through dedicated "barker" channels that use full screen continuous trailers (i.e., previews) which may or may not be accompanied by prices and ordering information. Recently, such promotional videos have been shown in split screens where part of the screen shows general schedule information for a time period roughly corresponding to the time period during which the general program being promoted is shown. Accordingly, there exists a need for an electronic program guide which can provide improved display and linking of video promotions with program schedule information and order processing functions.
The prior electronic program guides also fail to provide the user with a simple and efficient method of controlling access to individual channels and individual programs. The amount of adult situations involving sex and violence has steadily increased during the last 40 years. The issue of how this affects children or other viewers has gained national attention. Providing a parent with the ability to lock-out a channel is a well known and widespread feature of certain television receivers and cable converter boxes. Despite this availability, the feature is seldom used by parents. The main impediments to its effective use are the cumbersome ways in which it is generally implemented, as well as the requirement that entire channels be blocked in order to block access to any objectional programming. A channel-oriented parental lock is unfair to other programmers on the blocked channel--who, for example, offer adult-oriented programming in the evening and youth-oriented programming the following morning--and inconvenient for viewers who want access to such programs. Thus, there is a particular need for a system which provides password control to individual programs and channels using a flexible and uncomplicated on-screen user interface.
The prior electronic program guides are also deficient in that they do not provide the user with the ability to view on demand current billing status and, thus, a need exists for a system which can provide the user with current billing information on the user's demand.
An additional problem with prior program guides is that when displaying schedule information in grid format, i.e., columns representing time slots and rows representing channels, program titles generally are width-wise truncated to fit into the cells of the grid. The width of a grid cell varies with the duration of the program. Since a 30 minute program is allotted only a small amount of space for the program title and description, titles and/or descriptions for half and even full hour programs often must be truncated in order to fit into the allotted space. Some systems simply cut off the description of a program without abbreviating it in any way, such that the user is unable to determine the subject matter of the program. For example, a recent television program display included the following text in a grid cell: "Baseball: Yankees v." Although some systems partially alleviate this problem by providing two lines of text in each grid cell, this solution is not ideal because program descriptions may still be truncated.
A similar problem arises as the time slots change, either automatically or in response to a user control command. Typically, 90 minutes of schedule information is displayed at one time and the 90 minute window is shiftable in 30-minute increments. In the case where a 30 minute shift causes a 30 minute size grid cell to display, e.g., a two-hour movie, it is likely that the full title of the movie will not fit into the cell. Truncation of the title is thus required in this situation as well. In this case, while two lines of text may be desirable to fit the title in the 30 minute cell, the 60 and 90 minute cells may require only one line of text to display the title.
The prior electronic program guides also lack a method for creating a viewing itinerary electronically while still viewing a program currently appearing on the television receiver. Moreover, these prior program guides leave much guess work for the user as he navigates through a sequence of channels. When skimming through channels to ascertain the program then being displayed on any channel, commonly known as "channel surfing," the user needs to guess which program is currently being aired from the video encountered as the user surfs through the channels. Since much--in some cases, up to 30%--of the programming appearing on any given channel at any given time is advertising or other commercial programming, the user is not provided with any clues as to what program is appearing on a selected channel at a given time and must therefore wait until the advertisement or commercial is over before ascertaining the program then appearing on the selected channel. Thus a need exists for a program guide which displays current program schedule information for each channel as the user surfs through the available channels.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a simplified electronic program schedule system that may be more easily implemented, and which is appealing and efficient in operation. There is also a need to provide the user with an electronic program schedule system that displays both broadcast programs and electronic schedule information in a manner not previously available with other electronic program schedule systems, particularly those using a remote controller.
For example, there is a particular need for a flexible program schedule system that allows a user to view selected broadcast programs on a portion of the screen of the television receiver while simultaneously viewing program schedule information for other channels and/or services on another portion of the screen. There is also a need for such a program schedule system that permits the user to select from a plurality of selectable display formats for viewing the program schedule information. It is also preferred to have a system that indicates to the user those keys on the remote controller that are active in any particular mode of operation. There also exists a need for such a system that will give a user the capability to set a programmable reminder for viewing a program scheduled to air at a future time.
There is also a need for an electronic guide system providing the user with comprehensive information about pay-per-view events, premium services or other packaged programming to which the user does not ordinarily subscribe, and which provides the user with the capability to automatically purchase such programming on demand or impulse. There is also a need for an electronic guide system providing a reliable and efficient method of updating or replacing the application software that implements the electronic guide at the user sites.
There also exists a need for an electronic program guide that operates as a shell or window to provide the user with the capability to access other applications or information systems that are not part of the electronic program guide application or data.
There also exists a need for an electronic programming guide that provides a user with a simple interface for accessing other services provided by various programming sources, such as near video on demand, digital music services, electronic game programming and news and information delivery services.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a system that will allow the user to view a broadcast program while, at the same time, interactively viewing program schedule information for other programs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the user with the ability to select from among a plurality of display formats for the program schedule information.
It is yet another object of the present invention to indicate to the user of the program schedule system those keys on the remote controller active in the particular mode of operation of the system at the time of use.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide the user of the electronic program schedule system with the capability of setting programmable reminder messages for any future program.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide the system user with comprehensive information about pay-per-view events, premium services or other packaged programming to which the user does not subscribe and the capability to automatically purchase such programming on demand or impulse.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic guide system that provides a reliable and efficient method of updating or replacing the application software programs that implement the electronic guide at the user sites.
It is still another object of the electronic program guide to operate as a shell or window to provide the user with the capability to access other applications or information systems which are not part of the electronic program guide application or data.
It is yet another object of the electronic program guide to provide a system whereby video promotion of television programs and services are functionally linked and visually displayed in an integrated fashion to facilitate the marketing and sale of such programs and Services.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide password control for access to individual programs, as well as channels, using a protected interactive flexible and uncomplicated on-screen interface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the user with current programming information for all programs as the user surfs through the available channels.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a system in which the user can access his current billing information on demand.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system which overlays television program listings against varying background views.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved display of text in the grid cells comprising a page of television program listings.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electronic programming guide that utilizes virtual channels to simplify the interface for accessing various digitally distributed services.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by an electronic program schedule system having virtual channels which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor receives and stores in a memory television program schedule information for a plurality of television programs to appear on the plurality of television channels. A user control apparatus, such as a remote controller, is utilized by a viewer to choose user control commands and transmit signals in response to the data processor which receives the signals in response to user control commands. A television receiver is used to display the television programs and virtual channel programming. A video display generator receives video control commands from the data processor and generates and displays a plurality of virtual channels, each virtual channel being accessible as a channel and associated with a service delivered on a subset of the channels.